American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY)

Lead national strategy and awareness efforts for the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY). 

This includes working closely with the Founder of AACY in developing partnerships, crafting corporate communications, conducting outreach, and developing and executing targeted marketing strategies across multiple channels to connect with stakeholders and champion solutions for young caregivers. 

Moving the ball forward for the kids - things I've done and do:

| Co-authored the first-ever comprehensive Local and National Resource Guides on Caregiving Youth.

| Develop and implement impactful strategies to raise awareness about the needs of Caregiving Youth.

| Secure and facilitate national media coverage.

| Collaborate with policymakers and stakeholders to influence and create policy changes directly supporting Caregiving Youth initiatives.

| Lead efforts to promote and amplify the work of the Caregiving Youth Research Collaborative (CYRC) and Caregiving Youth Institute (CYI), raising awareness of their multi-system outputs through strategic communication, business/program development, advocacy, partnerships, and funding outreach.

I faced the immense challenges of caring for both parents - my father through Cholangiocarcinoma and my mother with Alzheimer's. Balancing these responsibilities with my career and raising two young boys tested my strength in unimaginable ways.

Witnessing the impact of caregiving on my sons fueled my desire to make a difference. We co-founded KidsAreCaregiversToo.com, an advocacy website that shares our story and educates others about supporting families facing similar situations.

Through KidsAreCaregiversToo.com, I connected with AACY. As a member of their National Advisory Council, I leverage my diverse experience to champion solutions and empower young caregivers in the U.S.

My multifaceted background equips me to help tackle this challenge with a fresh perspective, a start-up mentality, and an innovative lens.

National Advisory Council Chair, U.S. Development, AACY - Founder Kids are Caregivers Too

VIPC | Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

November 16, 2021 | Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced a name change to Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)

Director, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations

Led Strategic Marketing & Communications for Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)

| Directed all marketing, public relations, and communications activities for CIT, a leadership team position reporting directly to the CEO.

| Developed and executed comprehensive strategies to support commercialization, venture capital formation, market development, smart communities, and broadband expansion initiatives across Virginia.

| Oversaw the production, revision, and improvement of all forward-facing communications for a diverse portfolio of programs (CIT GAP Investment Funds (now VVP), CRCF, Virginia Founders Fund, etc.).

| Spearheaded a successful brand refresh for CIT, achieving consistent messaging, refined program definitions, and expanded outreach tactics.

| Achieved mid-triple digit growth (across all channels) in social media reach, interaction, followers, and engagement.

| Streamlined communications program, resulting in cost-effectiveness, improved impact, maintainability, and scalability.

| Spearheaded a CIT brand refresh, simplifying program descriptions and crafting a modern, consistent visual language to enhance program understanding and stakeholder engagement.

| Developed and launched a new website that enhances user experience and more clearly communicates CIT's programs and offerings.

| Wrote the first-ever DEI Guide for the organization

| Led strategic marketing, communications, and executive messaging during times of significant change, including the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid growth of funding and several organization mergers. Crafted clear and consistent communications from the CEO to navigate stakeholders through challenging times.

Director, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations - Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)

Private Investments - Limited Liability Holding Company

Responsible for strategic planning/portfolio operations support/performance of $150 million+ private investment fund. Deployed into portfolio companies to assess, assist and coach company leadership teams as part of broader strategic plans - headcount 800+. Mainly focused on marketing/branding & PR, business development, sales, operations & M&A activities. Featured investments:

Fairview Property Investments LLC
4.5 million sq ft office park (Fairview Park) Falls Church, VA

2941 Fairview Park Drive
Lead | Orr Partners
15-story commercial Class A office building - General Dynamics Headquarters

Award-winning D.C. area restaurants
2941 Restaurant
Lead | Jonathan Krinn
Pizzeria Orso

Cello Software
Start-up SaaS restaurant technology company

Gianni Campana
Via Palestro, 24, Milan
Leads | Gianni/Andrea Campagna
Acquired Caraceni's atelier and renovated the historic Palazzo Bernasconi on Milan's Via Palestro. Featured in FORBES article "The man with the Golden Needle." 

Cello Restaurant
53 East 77th Street, NY
Lead | Laurent Tourondel - (Now) Celebrity Chef - BLT Restaurants etc.
NY Times 3-star rated restaurant on Manhattan's Upper Eastside

Cello Music & Film Systems
41 East 62nd Street, NY
Lead | Mark Levinson - Audio Icon
Cello acquired close to a dozen of the best custom home theater installation businesses in the country to standardize the ultra-high-end installation business in Houston, Miami, Seattle, Aspen, NY, & L.A.

Cello Studios
6000 West Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood (United Western Recorders building)
Lead | John Porter - Recording Industry Icon/Producer
Aquired building & assets - business operations.

Cello Recordings
Leads | John Porter, Andrew Lauder (A&R), Taj Mahal (American Blues Musician)
Offices in NYC, London, & L.A. The company released records via two imprints: Jericho, contemporary recordings, & Cello Recordings, focused on acoustic recordings & Music Maker Recordings. Cello/Jericho had a distribution deal with Sire Records Group Inc.

Vice President Marketing & Business Development | COO

Osborn Capital LLC | Venture Fund

Guided Growth and Strategy at Osborn Capital, a Seed & Early-Stage Technology VC Firm

| Founded by Industry Veterans: Partnered with Jeff Osborn (UUNET) and Eric Janszen (Itulip.com) to build and execute a boutique angel-level venture group for technology start-ups.

| Full-Spectrum Deal Flow Management: Led brand-building, market research, and strategic networking to identify and drive high-potential investment opportunities.

| Investment Due Diligence & Negotiation: Conducted comprehensive due diligence and market/business analysis; played a key role in negotiating terms for new deals and follow-on investments.

| High-Impact Project Leadership: Successfully navigated complex projects, contributing to the development and execution of overall business strategy, goals, and marketing plans.

| Operational & Strategic Support for Portfolio Companies: Leveraged my industry background to advise leadership teams on strategic sales planning, operations, forecasting, marketing, branding, and communication best practices.

| Building Relationships & Fostering Growth: Cultivated a network of investors, clients, and talent, facilitating critical connections for the firm and its portfolio companies.

| Branding & Communications Expertise: Established and managed Osborn Capital's brand identity, overseeing all public relations and forward-facing communications.

| Problem-Solving & Opportunity Maximization: Identified and addressed organizational challenges within portfolio companies, maximizing their potential for success.

| Board Representation & Public Engagement: Acted as a proxy for Board of Directors meetings and represented the firm at industry events and public speaking engagements.

Executive Director

UUNET

One of the front-line builders of the web services business unit from idea through execution. Responsible for defining UUNET's leadership expectations, collecting customer requirements, and translating/coordinating those with the engineering team's capabilities to create a salable, supportable, billable, scalable web hosting product from ground zero. Annual recurring revenue generated: $0 - $40 million in less than two years.

Orchestrated and led a team of 80+ people across ten regional sales divisions in the United States. Had indirect sales/product management responsibilities for over 500+ leased line sales reps who also sold web hosting products and services. Coordinating web sales, training, installation, and support for UUNET's International sales divisions is an additional accomplishment.

I was active in UUNET through the below timeline of events. Assigned to work with executives, product managers and leadership of each of the acquiring companies on knowledge transfer/training of web hosting services to expand revenue streams and integrate hosting sales into the larger sales organization channels. 

UUNET Timeline:
1991 - UUNET participates in the founding of the Commercial Internet Exchange Association
1992 - UUNET with MFS co-creates MAE-East, for a time the world's busiest internet exchange and "center of the internet"
1994 - Microsoft paid $16.4 million for a 15 percent share of the company
1995 - In May, UUNET is listed on the NASDAQ stock market in an initial public offering that would become part of the beginning of the dot-com boom.
1995 - UUNET Technologies Inc acquired Unipalm Pipex.
1996 - UUNET Technologies agreed to a merger with the Microsoft backed MFS Communications Company.
1996 - Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS) acquires UUNET for $2 Billion on 12 August 1996.
1996 - WorldCom acquires MFS for $12.4 billion

[Source for timeline Wikipedia]

National Sales & Marketing Director - Web Services Business Unit

Part of the three-person team that founded the Web Hosting Business Unit, the first in the industry to design, sell, market, and deliver a commercial product capable of hosting multiple IP addresses on a single web server. Vetted, hired, and led agency relationships for new initiative branding and public relations.

I worked with the executive staff, the CEO, the board, and early investors on pre-IPO Road Show presentations to help script, present, and refine our company's story for potential investors and stakeholders. 

My role was to tell the story of UUNET as a front-line team member who was part of a uniquely positive and successful start-up culture, and also from a web product perspective as a subject matter expert on hosting services.

Participated in extensive briefing and Q&A sessions with potential investors, bankers, market analysts, press, and the public before our public offering while continuing responsibilities for managing the web hosting sales team, operational challenges inherent to new product development, marketing execution, major account coordination and meeting/beating monthly revenue numbers.

The newly formed web team grew recurring revenue from $0 – $1 M + in the first year and continuously evolved market segmentation, product definitions, branding, engineering refinement, installation and billing procedures for the new technology.

Notable early clients included Dow Jones, Gannett, The Wall Street Journal, Marriott, Mercedes USA, Subaru, The Sci-Fi Channel, Comedy Central, The Motley Fool, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Disney, Time Warner, Value Jet, Sony PlayStation, Cotton Incorporated, The Securities Industry Association, America Online - AOL, and The Microsoft Network.

Founding Member, UUNET Web Hosting Division

I managed a sales and technical support team of 20+ members for the Midwest territory.

Responsible for forecasting, and hitting monthly territory revenue numbers, lead generation, hiring, executing sales/product training, coaching, and leadership of the team. 

Consistently exceeded revenue goals for the new territory by over 200% on average - helped define and expand the market in the Midwest sales region.

Represented UUNET at local and national conferences through presentations/public speaking engagements about the Internet.

High Speed Sales Mid-West Regional Manager

One of the first three salespeople at UUNET Technologies. Exceeded monthly sales quota by over 200% consistently.

Won Time Warner Account providing dial-up services to editors at Time Warner, including Time Magazine. Was responsible for customer service and creating support procedures and billing processes for the first-of-a-kind major opportunity sale.

Account Executive High Speed and Dial Sales, UUNET Technologies

United Airlines

Fulfilled a lifetime goal/dream of visiting every state in the U.S. Awarded 'Best of the Best' - a designation given to the top 50 Flight Attendants (out of over 15,000) based on customer feedback and peer recognition.

Flight Attendant

Founder. Executive Advisor. Dot connector. Opportunity enthusiast. Positive culture builder. I have some experience solving big problems and turning ideas into reality – concepts through completion.

Taplio

Sara Poole's Linkedin Analytics

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Taplio

.css-1jgreyo{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39,43,72,1) 0%, rgba(33,47,183,1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Sara Poole's Linkedin Analytics

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Sara Poole's Linkedin Analytics